Masonry Cleaning of Sandstone House & Wall - Labas Construction

Labas Construction is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based master-craft masonry restoration company. Built on a family foundation of over 35 years in the industry, Labas Construction offers masonry restoration and monument cleaning, servicing Western Canada.

This project was a multi-family townhome built in 2012 that consisted of clay brick and sandstone.

The Problem

The project was to remove biological growth, sap and dirt on the sandstone. One of the issues Labas faced with this project was the sandstone, as it is a much softer stone. Using a standard pressure washer on this sandstone would leave wand marks due to the extremely high water pressure. During initial cleaning test samples, which were conducted with cold water, the stone was cleaned, however within a few months the black biological growth gradually came back. The issue was that the cold water did not kill the biological matter at its core.

The Solution

For this job, Labas required a low pressure washer combined with high heat in order to not only clean the sandstone, but to preserve it and keep the growth from coming back so fast. The electric ThermaTech was just the right machine for this task. The ThermaTech was great because it allows for two people to clean at the same time. This was very beneficial for this operation as it got the job done a lot faster. Vancouver is a leader in environmentally friendly products, and by using the ThermaTech equipment Labas stayed true to that notion as the machine does not use chemicals or acids in order to clean. Owning a ThermaTech has benefited the company as the go-to masonry cleaning system.

The Outcome

The ThermaTech worked exactly how it was designed: the low water pressure combined with high heat and two operators not only got the job done right but also did so in a short period of time. This was the perfect piece of equipment for this delicate job. Labas knew they wouldn’t have to go back to redo the job after using the ThermaTech. The biological matter has not come back and it has been two years since they completed the job. The pictures explain it all and the clients are more than satisfied.